Body Autonomy

Health is an elusive mix of the physical and the emotional, the mental and the spiritual, the individual and the social, the logical and the intuitive. It is the diversity of these factors that can make defining health a difficult task. This may be the reason that we tend to separate these elements and compartmentalise our understanding. 

The reductionist science that rules the practice of modern medicine serves to validate this approach. The lens of reductionism can certainly provide valuable insights and is especially useful when details are essential. It can also be a curse when we attempt to develop a deeper or more comprehensive understanding of the human condition. Our myopic focus leads us further away from the dynamic insights that are essential if we truly desire the kind of life that seems to be our true potential. 

Be Your Own Doctor

In America, just about 18 percent of the GNP is spent on health care; in the Uk, the figure is 9.6 percent. Yet in an exhaustive survey done by the United Nations and published in 2000, America only ranked thirty–seventh out of 190 countries, and the UK ranked eighteenth. Something is seriously wrong, and money isn’t fixing it. One problem is that the growing demands and increased complexity of treatment creates an environment where mistakes are unavoidable. A 2013 report from the Institute of Medicine reported that there are 440,000 preventable deaths from medical errors annually in America. that makes medical error the third leading cause of death following heart disease and cancer. 

Driven by pressure from the pharmaceutical industry and a cultural belief in the power of the pill, the abuse of prescriptive drugs grows yearly. An estimated forty–eight million Americans have abused prescription drugs (nearly 20 percent of the US population). Deaths by prescription drugs are more common than deaths by car accidents in America and far outstrip deaths by illegal drugs. 

This is not to say that there is never a need for conventional treatment. Sometimes people need a doctor or a standard treatment. It is caution and taking the road of prevention as the priority. Education is the answer.

The Power of Simplicity

Western society is home to the highest rates of Non–Communicable Diseases (NCDs). these NCD’s include diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many cancers. Taken together they are generally seen to be conditions that are caused by diet and other life–style habits. These diseases cause 85 percent of American deaths. The world average is higher than that, and at current rates, by the year 2030, NCD’s will cause 89 percent of all deaths in America. These are diseases that are mostly preventable by simple changes in the way we conduct our daily life. 

Physical and Mental Health

Diet, exercise, environmental influences, sleep patterns and social behaviour would all be on a list of effective prevention. Most of these factors are simple, and not a secret. We seem to prefer to develop the problem and then ask the medical profession to give us something to reduce the symptoms. Addressing the breakdown of both physical and mental health does not require further analysis or the development of new drugs, surgeries, or biotechnologies. The answers to our present problems do exist. They are available if we focus our attention on the position of humanity in nature, re–evaluate the philosophy of life which underlies our modern civilization and accept responsibility for the creation of our present problems. 

Being responsible for our actions is of the utmost importance for the development of our individual lives, and consequently our society. To realize our human potential, it is essential that we develop our own internal strengths and realize fully our capacity to positively affect our personal condition. The degree to which our basic human freedom is eroded by social institutions, political structure, health facilities, and welfare agencies is directly related to our inability, or unwillingness, to adequately care for ourselves. 

What You Can Do

The simple tools essential for good health are available to us all. The science, wisdom traditions, and common sense tell us that to be healthy we need to make balance with the environment. There are many ways to do this but two important factors stands above the rest. What we eat has the biggest effect on our wellbeing. One of the most important acts we can take is to adapt to an earth friendly diet. Please download our free ebook, What To Eat to get more information on the simple yet effective ways to choose a healthy diet. The second most important factor is to exercise. Movement is medicine. Switch me on daily to breathe and stretch with me. Your body will love you for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMtGXt1uPTU&t

In good health